Genesis Chapter 21: Isaac is born

Isaac was born with Sarah and Abraham being the mother and father. This appeared to be God’s plan all along when he prophesied for Abraham to be the father of many nations. Before Isaac’s birth and under Sarah’s advisement (not God’s) Abraham took Hagar, his servant in an attempt to fulfill God’s prophecy. Sarah never seemed to like Hagar, and once Hagar made the mistake of mocking Sarah’s son Isaac, Sarah forced Hagar out of the house. Abraham was of course troubled by this, but look at what God says to him.

Genesis 21:12 “But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named.”
God told Abraham to listen to his wife. Last time when Sarah treated Hagar so harshly that she fled, God spoke to Hagar and told her to return and to submit to Sarah.

Genesis 16:9 “Then the angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority.”
Repeatedly, you see here how God honors marriage and works through the marriage relationship to fulfill his prophecy. God protected Sarah when kings “sent” for her to, God worked with Abraham’s emotional conflict which came from having a son by Hagar, and God even told Abraham to listen to “whatever Sarah tells you.”
That’s what I call an empowered woman! Sarah told Abraham to push Hagar and her son Ishmael out of the camp, so Abraham gave Hagar and her son supplies and sent them on their way. The scripture says that he gave them “bread and a skin of water”. They wandered in the wilderness, it appears to me that they had no idea what to do, where to go, and had a limited amount of supplies. Hagar was at the breaking point, ready to give up and die (her and her son). It was at this point when she cried out, that God came and shared HIS plans with her. The scripture says that God was with Ishmael as well.